Mrs. Lynch’s AP Literature class was all about preparation. The Advanced Placement exam in the spring loomed large over the landscape of short stories, poetry, and plays we were studying. The exam would include an essay, so we wrote timed responses to short literary pieces and worked on getting our writing as clear as possible. On one occasion, after I turned my essay in and she had a chance to read it, Mrs. Lynch called me to her desk for a critique.
“This is a good essay, Mr. Casey,” she said, “but this one is better.”
She held out another essay– written by a fellow classmate – for me to read. I read it and had to admit, she was right. Her job at that moment was not to make me feel good. Her job was to prepare me to be a better writer. At the risk of bruising my ego, she forced me to see that I could do better. I swallowed that bitter pill and got back to work.
John the Baptist is born in the chapter before Jesus. His birth is announced by an angel and seen as a miracle. His work, however, would be different from that of Jesus. John’s job was to humble the people – call them to repentance – in preparation for the Messiah. The angel tells Zechariah:
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
Luke 1:16-17, ESV
A people prepared… the nation needed to do some turning. The children of Israel needed to turn to the Lord. Fathers needed to turn to the children. The disobedient needed to turn to the wisdom of the just. All of this turning was summed up in John’s ministry – a baptism of repentance (Luke 3:3). John’s job was not to make the people feel good. John’s job was to evoke in people’s hearts a desire to come back to God’s path. Most of the time, his preaching challenged and pricked the conscience (Luke 3:7-14). Ultimately, it led to his arrest and execution.
As our calendar turns toward the time of year when we remember the coming of Jesus, how should we prepare? Let’s think a little deeper and harder than the usual holiday prep that focuses on decorations and menus. Are there spiritual snares that have entangled us? Have our hearts ventured down paths that do not honor God? Do we need to face the truth that some “turning” could be good for us?
In our delight over the good news of Jesus’ arrival, let’s not forget that neither Jesus nor his cousin, John, came simply to make us feel good. The preparation on our end will include bearing “fruit in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8, ESV). If you knew Christ was coming back next Sunday, how would you spend the next week? What preparations would you undertake knowing that soon you would see God face-to-face? Why not carry out those things anyway? Let’s be a people prepared for the coming Messiah! Prepare the way of the Lord!